


This Wall Between Us

by EvilMuffins



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Married Couple, Self-Doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-05-28 18:47:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19400191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/pseuds/EvilMuffins
Summary: Of course Wallace wouldn't know how vital it was to bring your team along on an underground expedition. Being installed as the guardian of a ceremonial cave, and choosing to become an explorer were two different things entirely. He had placed his complete faith and trust in Steven to know what he was doing, and now they were trapped.---A shared misadventure.





	This Wall Between Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Corrosion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corrosion/gifts).



Well, he was alive at least. That was a plus. ...Or maybe not, Steven reconsidered, gritting his teeth as he attempted to shift his leg.

_Shit..._

He certainly wouldn't be climbing any rocks on that for a few months at least. Although the flashlight had gone out, judging by the way the fabric of his slacks clung to his shin, the gash was deep. It was probably just as well that he couldn't see it.

“Guess it was about time we went out clothes shopping, huh?” Steven chuckled weakly.

No one answered.

A chill stabbed through Steven's chest. “...Wallace?”

He wanted to call again, to shout his husband's name, but all that choked out of Steven's mouth next was a strangled cry of pain as he struggled in vain to push himself up off of the ground.

Sinking back against the stones, Steven allowed himself a deep breath alongside a moment to collect himself.

_...The Pokémon, of course!_

How could he have been so foolish as to not consider his _other_ partners? Once Claydol lit up the area with Light Screen, he could get a handle on the situation. Wallace was probably right near by, only unconscious. He would come-to in few moments, and then they would get themselves out of this Arceus-forsaken cave.

With a shaky hand, Steven patted at his side, once, then another time.

His belt was missing as well.

“Damnit...” Steven hissed, attempting to quash the dread swirling in his gut. Maybe if he were to just close his eyes and relax for a while, he'd wake to find that Cradily had cast Confuse Ray on him again. But he knew that was ridiculous. The last time that had happened, he'd come out of it dressed to the gills in Wallace's old contest attire. Steven couldn't help but crack a grim smile at the memory.

The nearby sound of water dripping from the cave ceiling would have been soothing, in any other situation. Shortly after moving in together, Wallace had purchased a small desktop fountain to place on their dresser. Steven had soon come to associate the sound of water gently trickling with the comfort of holding his husband in his arms during lazy weekends in which no fresh-faced challengers came to call at the Sootopolis gym.

As Steven continued to focus on the sound of water, attempting to bring his labored breathing under control, he thought that he could hear something else as well, faint and distant.

“...ven...?

“Wallace?” he breathed, before shouting loudly enough to bring a pang of pain to his throat, “ _Wallace!”_

“Steven!” came the muffled voice of Wallace. “Where are you? I dropped my light and I can't see a thing...” As he continued to speak, Steven thought that his voice seemed to be growing further.

“Wallace, I'm here- _Ugh!”_ No matter how desperate Steven was to stand, willpower alone did little to heal his leg.

“Steven, are you alright?” Wallace's voice grew shrill with alarm. “I can't find you!”

“Just a little cut on my leg,” Steven lied, fruitlessly straining again to see in the dark of the cave. “Never mind that, what about you?”

“I definitely feel a bruise coming on... Right on my cheek, wouldn't you know it? Might not be showing my face at the gym for a while...” Wallace complained, although he sounded nearer now.

Steven let free a shaky laugh, relief bubbling over at his husband's (rather adorable) misplaced priorities, despite the lingering dread lodged at the back of his mind. “Never mind that. Get over here, and we'll use your Pokémon to dig us out.”

“What happened to your's?” Finally, Wallace's playful attitude gave way to true alarm.

“My belt's gone,” Steven answered ruefully, fingers plucking at a snapped belt loop. “It must have gotten snagged when we fell.”

"...Oh."

Steven's stomach sank. "What do you mean ' _oh'? "_

"Darling... I left everyone with Lisia for the day, remember?" Wallace explained gently. "You were so engrossed in your maps before we left, that you didn't seem to hear me..."

Of course Wallace wouldn't know how vital it was to bring your team along on an underground expedition. Being installed as the guardian of a ceremonial cave, and choosing to become an explorer were two different things entirely. He had placed his complete faith and trust in Steven to know what he was doing, and now they were trapped.

"Can you follow the sound of my voice and come any closer?" Another wave of cold sweat poured through Steven's veins. He wanted Wallace closer. Even if they couldn't figure out an escape, an urge to feel his husband's touch flooded to the forefront of his thoughts.

"I'm trying..." Wallace's voice was yet to sound any closer. "But there seems to be a pile of rubble between us. I can't find my way around it..."

_Of course._

"Don't keep trying then," Steven said, sighing in defeat. "It's dangerous without any light. It's best to just stay put for now." A thought struck him. "...You said you that you saw Lisia before we left?"

"I did," Wallace confirmed. "In fact, she was so happy to see her boring old uncle try out something new, that she gave our little jaunt a title: ' _A Lovers' Journey: Into the Heart of the Earth, and the Heart of a Champion!'"_

" _Former_ Champion," Steven amended. "Otherwise, quite charming. I give it a solid eight out of ten, compared to some of her others."

“What can I say? My niece is a master at her craft… She’s decent at Contests too, I suppose.” Steven could imagine Wallace’s playful shrug. He hoped that his husband could sense his unspoken thankfulness towards his effort to keep things light despite the dire situation.

At least someone knew they were missing, at the very least. The two fell into a silence for some time, pain and exhaustion taking Steven by the hand, allowing his mind to wander.

The pure, unbridled blackness all around them reminded Steven of the time the power had gone out in their home last year. At first, the memory of Kyogre’s destruction had brought a blanket of tension down upon their evening, but eventually the comfort of quilts piled upon the couch, combined with the gentle glow of candles soon had Steven and Wallace melting into the comfort of one another.

“I’m going to quit rock collecting,” Steven announced abruptly.

“What? Why?” Wallace’s answer from the other side of the rock pile sounded nearly as distraught as it had the time Steven had accidentally washed Wallace's favorite white cape in the same laundry load as Steven’s darks.

“I mean, I wouldn’t quit entirely,” Steven continued thoughtfully, although truth be told, if it would stop the pain in his leg right then and there, he would willingly launch the whole damn collection off a cliff. “There’s always PokEbay and the rock and mineral show over in Sinnoh…”

“Sweetheart…” Wallace began gingerly, “Did you hit your head? You love rocks more than you love your husband!”

Wallace had meant it as a joke. Steven knew that, even in the state he was in.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Steven’s voice reverberated around the cavern. “I’m sorry…” He apologised immediately, restless fingers straying toward the rings on his left hand, one more recently added than the rest. “It’s just that… It was my ridiculous, stupid hobby that got us into this mess. Got _you_ into this mess. I put you in danger, Wallace.”

“Steven…”

“I’m a married man now,” Steven stressed wryly, twisting the golden band round his finger. “It’s time to put foolish things like this behind me. Maybe I can put in more hours over at Devon. My father would be thrilled, I’m sure.”

“Steven Stone, you listen to me,” Wallace said in the tone he generally reserved for young challengers. “Exploring is your passion, which by extension, makes it my passion as well. Do you really think that I would want to be married to a man who does nothing but paperwork day in and out? I fell in love with you _because of_ your passion, not in spite of it. You chose your own path in life. I spent half my life guarding a cave, because I was told to. You explore because you want to, and that’s beautiful to me.”

“Wallace…” Steven reached out, pressing his palm against the cool wall of rock, hoping that somehow, Wallace could feel it.

What Steven felt, however, was a pebble falling away beneath his fingers. Curiously, he pulled at the neighboring stone, then another.

“Wallace!” Steven urged. “Feel along the rocks!”

Doing as told, Wallace soon gasped as his hand met Steven’s through the modest gap he had managed to create.

“Remember the time I told you that all of those rings get in the way when I want to hold your hand?” Wallace asked.

“How could I?” Steven gave his hand a squeeze.

“I’m never letting go again.”

_Epilogue:_

Hours turned into the following morning, the sunlight filtering in through a freshly-dug Diglett hole above Steven’s head. Eventually, a Hiker passing by came to their aid, kindly retrieving Steven's pokeballs from a cranny between the rubble as well. 

Although Steven was laid up for a number of months (during which, he couldn’t say that he disliked the extra pampering from Wallace), the calendar on his desk counted down the days to the couple’s next shared adventure.


End file.
